Annihilation
by LucindaCainHail
Summary: Set a year or two after KOTW, Darquesse has taken control over Valkyrie. Darquesse is weakening, Skulduggery is determined to get Valkyrie back. The world is in utter annihilation & there is war, Skulduggery leader of the Elementals & Adepts and Darquesse leader of Necromancers. Mortals are also caught up in this battle. OC's, better than it sounds better summary inside. Review!
1. Preparation

**A/N: Hello everybody! :D This is my second fanfic for Skulduggery. I hope you guys like it.**

**This is set a year and a few months after KOTW, Darquesse has taken control over Valkyrie. Valkyries presence was weak but now is getting stronger and stronger. She has left Skulduggery, and he is determined he to get Valkyrie back. The world is in utter annihilation and there is war, with Skulduggery the leader of the Elementals and Adepts and Darquesse the leader of Necromancers. Mortals are also caught up in this battle of magic.**

**It will contain OC's. PM me or tell me if you want to be a character. Anyways, ****_Review_**** please! X**

**P.s- Tanith got the Remnant out of her somehow. So.. she's Remnant-free. Yay :)**

* * *

She walks the dark hallways of the Temple, her servants following behind her. She walks towards the large hall where her army waits. "Solomon, fetch me a coffee." Darquesse says casually, her voice echoing slightly. Despite being an evil sorceress, she still enjoyed the taste of hot coffee running down her throat. "Yes Mistress." He leaves her side to get her the drink.

She enters the hall and everyone inside goes quiet. "Today we shall strike the Elementals and Adepts again, just as we did three days ago. We will bring terror and their numbers down even further. Our numbers are low, but you have something they do not, something they will never have. You know this. The other side have someone that could defeat us but he dares not do this, for he fears he will not be able stop himself from harming the ones he loves." Everyone cheers and some of the people cry tears of happiness.

"Fools." she whispers, as Solomon returns with her coffee.

"You are an inspiration to them Darquesse, they know that with you on our side, we can win this war." he tells her. "Also, Mr. Bespoke has your new clothes ready."

Darquesse nods and walks out of the hall. She walks down long, winding stairs and dark corridors, heading deep into the Temple, where she keeps all her prisoners.

She walks to the cleanest and most well-lit cell, where a man with scars all over his head sits on the floor. "Ghastly."

"Hello Valkyrie," Ghastly said. He has never called her Darquesse, even though she has captured him, tortured him and forced him to make his special clothes for her army. She talks to him a lot, maily beacuse he's the only other person worth talking to in the Temple. She tells him stories of the people she's killed after she returns from battle and it fills him with sadness. "Your clothes are over there." he points to a pile of black clothes, folded on a table.

"Thank you Ghastly. It's good you finished them today; I'm going to another fight, this one is more important than all the rest. Can you guess why?"

He nods, "Skulduggery's going to be there isn't he?" she smiles in delight. "He misses you you know. He cares for you. The minute after you left us all he said to me _'I will get her back'_."

She stared at him. He never talks about Skulduggery anymore, he used to tell her how much it would mean to Skulduggery if she gave Valkyrie back. She looked away and picked up the clothes. "Thank you." She gets walks out of the cell and locks it up. Just before she gets out of earshot she hears him say, "You're welcome Valkyrie."

For the first time in over a year, Darquesse feels a pull in her heart and hears a voice in her head. _Let me out! Please._ Darquesse shakes her head, getting rid of the voice and scowls as she goes to her room. Could she be softening up? Impossible. Darquesse was in control and Valkyrie could do nothing. Even though these past few months, Darquesse had realized she wasn't as ruthless and destructive as she had been.

"Solomon, tell everyone to get ready. I'll be out soon." she doen't even wait for his reply, she just goes in her room and closes the door.

* * *

"Skulduggery? Are you awake or are you still meditating?" Tanith's voice calls out to him. She was dressed in her usual leather attire, with the exception of a black coat made by Ghastly and her sword in her hand.

"I'm awake. Is it almost time?" he asks.

"Yes. The ar- everyone, is ready."

"Okay, I will be out in a minute."

She nods and leaves. He gets up and paces around the room. "Why am I nervous? The only difference is that you're seeing her. Valkyrie." He falls to the floor and puts his head in his hands. He hadn't seen her in over a year. He missed her. He missed _Valkyrie_. In the whole year and a half the world had been in battle, he had only seen her twice. Once in the first attack, he went up against her. It pained him to do so. The second time was only a month after that, she was walking alone, to the pier. All she did was stand at the pier, he had watched her stand there until she left to go back to the Temple.

His friends said she appeared in every battle, but he never wanted to see her. He made up excuses not to go like '_I can help the wounded' _or _'I need to protect our headquarters.'_ But he had heard news, news that Valkyrie was slipping through and Darquesse was getting weaker. That was why he wanted to fight today. Also to try and get Ghastly back. She captured Ghastly to make the special, magic-resistant clothes. He pulled his jacket on and cocked his hat to the ususal angle, then left the room.

Tanith walked next to him and could feel his unease. "Skulduggery, it's going to be ok. I've seen her, the last fight we were in, three days ago? I saw her slip through, we were standing there, she had her own sword and I had mine, I told her that you missed her. I told her that we all missed her, but you the most and she actually put her sword down and I could see in her eyes that it was Valkyrie. But then Darquesse regained control and we were fighting again. Darquesse is getting weaker, with you out there today, Valkyrie will fight harder to take control."

Skulduggery stopped walking and looked at her, "Thank you Tanith." then he pulled her into a hug.

He let go of her and nodded. "Lets go."

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys like it! :3 Review... X**


	2. The Meeting

**A/N: Hi. Here's chapter TWO. I hope you like it. And in the first chapter I forgot to put the disclaimer. So.. disclaimer- I do not own anything other than the story line and OC's. Derek Landy, the Golden God, is the one who owns Skulduggery Pleasant , Valkyrie Cain, Ghastly Bespoke, Tanith Low, Solomon Wreath and most recognisable characters.**

**Anyways, here is chapter two!.. X (Also, please review. :3)**

* * *

Darquesse looked at herself in the mirror. She looked good. The sleeveless, tight, black vest hugged her figure nicely, and the pants did the same to her legs. The new boots and gloves fit her feet and hands as if she had been wearing them for years. She opened the door and called out to Solomon. "My things, Solomon."

He entered her room with a sword and dagger in his hands. "Darquesse. Are you ready?"

The shadows swirled around her bare shoulders and down her back, onto the floor. "I'm always ready Solomon." she slid the dagger into its sheath and gripped the sword. "The question is, are they ready?"

**oOoOoOo**

The army of black gathered outside of the Temple, once everyone was ready Darquesse spread the shadows out and they whole army shadow-walked a few kilometers away from a farm, where they could see small figures darting across it.

Darquesse took in a deep breath, taking in the scent of the crisp, early morning air. She surveyed her army and felt happy with what she saw. Most of her army was made up of Necromancers, but over the past year she had gained a number of Adepts and Elementals. The Elementals she had, were great in both hand-to-hand combat and with their elemental magic. The Adepts that joined her had some magnificant abilities. One of her favourites, a tall, Jamaican man called Sean Johnson, who it turns out, had been a fan of Tesseract and learned the bone-crushing ability. Another one of Darquesses' favourite adepts was a girl, Olivia Scorpii, no older than sixteen, who could stimulate pain just by looking at someone. She was inexperienced though, so she could only do it to one individual and only for a short amount of time. The pain she gave was like Serpines' red right-hand trick.

"Silence!" Darquesse shouted. "Today, shall be like any other day. With the exception of one man. None of you are to go against him. _I_ am the only one to fight him, unless I want you to. Understand?"

The whole army screamed a 'yes'. "Do any of you know who this man is?"

One man, Horace Ransom, raised his hand.

"Yes, Horace?"

"Skulduggery Pleasant."

Darquesse smiled. Suddenly the army erupted into a mass of gasps and murmurs.

"Thank you Horace for being my informant, my spy, you've done well to let me know he's coming today. You've made me happy, and that's quite hard to do." She patted his head, then suddenly tangles her fingers through his hair and ripped his head off and threw it on the ground. "Now lets go."

The army roars and the march towards the farm. "You all know what to do." she says, before flying up into the early morning sky, leaving a trail of shadows behind her. She looks down upon all the chaos that is happening and smiles. But she soon frowns because she cannot see Skulduggery. She turns around in the air, scanning the horizon, to see if he is behind her.

"Hello Darquesse." a smooth, velvet voice says from behind her. She whips around and smiles when she sees him. Skulduggery.

"Hello Skulduggery. It's been so long." she says.

"Yes. Yes it has, how is she?" he asks.

"She? _She_?" Darquesse laughs. "You know very well she is me, and I am her. We are the same."

"Your not. She wouldn't have wanted this. Not her, not Valkyrie." he whispered the last part to her.

His voice made Valkyrie alert, Valkyrie now hearing his voice, was raging inside Darquesse. All Valkyrie had to do was break down the wall that Darquesse had made. And hearing his voice for the first time in over a year was enough to do that.

"Skulduggery!" Valkyrie screams, as she falls to the ground. He dives for her but as he gets close to her, she laughs, flying again. She spins around and catches him in the jaw.

"She regained control just then. hearing your voice has her fighting, but I'm too strong for her. That will not happen again." she yells as he comes flying back to her. "Lets go some place away from here and _fight._"

She shoots past past him, and flies out to the destroyed city of Dublin, but he doesn't follow. She doesn't look back, she knows he will come. She just keeps flying enjoying the sunrise.

* * *

Skulduggery and Tanith make sure everyone is ready before they file into vans and cars and drive to the farm. Skulduggery takes his Bentley, and Tanith takes her motorbike. They arrive before the sun comes up and before the Necromancers arrive. Before Darquesse arrives.

"Tanith, do I have to give a speech? I mean, it's not like my words are going to help us win." he says to Tanith.

"Stop whining Skulduggery, you sound like a little child. And actually, your words may help us win, they know how much pain you've been through and to see you stand so brave will fill them with fire." she tells him. She puts her hand on his shoulder. "It'll be ok."

"Thank you Tanith."

He stands on the hood of his beloved Bentley and shouts for everyone to quiet down.

"Um, hello. You all know why we're here today, erm, we shall win this war with me on your side and, uh you as my comrads." he faltered. "This speech isn't going as well as should be. The point is we shall fight to the end and stuff. Also, no one is to go against Darquesse today, except me. Is that clear?"

There were murmurs and nods through the crowd. He cleared his throat and nodded. "Well that's it then."

Tanith shook her head and pulled him off the car. "That.. was not the speech I had in mind, but I guess they don't mind because I give worse speeches."

"I've lost my talent for speeches."

She laughs then turns to the large group. "Everyone, the necromacers are close. Go to your stations now." Skulduggery surveys the area and can see a mass of black on the top of a hill, not to far from the farm.

"Are you nervous Skulduggery?" Tanith asks him.

"Yes. Does it show that much?"

"Not to everyone else, only to Erskine and myself. All i have to say is I'm glad you finally decided to come today." she pats his shoulder and her face falls. "It's time."

He turns around and sees the black, shadowy mass heading towards the farm. Tanith gives him a look before leaving his side and joining the battle. He sees a black figure rise into the sky and spin around. It's her. He waits until she turns the other way before flying up into the sky himself.

"Hello Darquesse." he says to her.

"Hello Skulduggery. It's been so long." she says.

"Yes. Yes it has, how is she?"

"She? _She_?" Darquesse laughs. "You know very well she is me, and I am her. We are the same."

"Your not. She wouldn't have wanted this. Not her, not Valkyrie." he whispers the last part to her.

Then he sees it. he can see it in her eyes, that it is Valkyrie.

"Skulduggery!" she screams, plummeting towards the earth. He flies down to catch her but, as he nears he can hear her laugh. She spins around, and catches him across the jaw then flies away from him. Ow.

Before he can say anything she speaks. "She regained control just then. hearing your voice has her fighting, but I'm too strong for her. That will not happen again." she yells as he comes flying back to her. "Lets go some place away from here and _fight._"

He watches her shoot past him, and out to the destroyed city of Dublin, but he doesn't follow . He looks down at the ground and sees Tanith looking at him. She nods and he flies after Darquesse.

* * *

**A/N: Hi. Erm, I'm sorry if the tense or 'P.O.V' changes, like from present tense to past tense or something. Also sorry if theres any mistakes, I did this one ****_real _****quickly. ****_Also_****, sorry it's short.**

** Yeah, please review!.. X**


	3. Good & Bad

**A/N: Heyo... How is everyone? I hope your all good. I would just like to say thank you to the people that have reviewed my story so far, it means alot to me to have 4 reviews by the second chapter..:3 So I would just like to thank Justrockzyxxx, SapphireShadowgirl and Chyro Karzel. Also sorry that the two parts of this chapter may seem very similar, when two characters are together the dialouge and actions can't change, but the thoughts and stuff they see are different. I hope this is okay, the next one will be better. **

**Anyways, I hope you like it and please Review..X**

* * *

Skulduggery flies after the figure that is leaving a stream of shadows behind it. As he followed, he thought some thoughts. He didn't want to fight her, he never really wanted to. But it wasn't his or hers' choice that it had to be this way.

Her Surge happened early, just after her eighteenth birthday. They were training and she said she wanted to get back on track with her necromancer magic. He had grumbled a little bit, but eventually let her go from training and she left to the Temple. The necromancers didn't do anything, he knew that because Solomon called him, informing him that she was having her Surge. He had rushed right over of course, and Solomon had taken him to a room where Valkyrie layed on a bed with a faint glow around her.

She layed still for an hour before her eyes fluttered open and she stood up.

He was the first one to ask the question, _"What did you choose?_" It was at that moment the shadows curled around her body, and he could see it in her eyes.

_"Darquesse?" he asked._

_"Disappointed Skulduggery? Are you mad I didn't choose to be an Elemental?" she let out a very un-Valkyrie like laugh._

_"No, I'm just disappointed it wasn't her choice and it was yours instead." he told her._

_"Skulduggery, when are you ever going to realise that we are one, we are the same. I am her, she is me." ._

_"Give Valkyrie back." he said loudly._

_"Your words will_

_not get her back." she said._

_"What will?" he asked._

She then whispered one word. _War._

Skulduggery shakes his head, getting rid of the memory and looks around for Darquesse. He finds her standing on the top of the tallest building, with her back to him. He dips lower and lands next to her, his hands in his pockets.

"How has she been, Valkyrie I mean." he asks.

"How many times do i have to tell you; we are the same person." he could hear the anger in her voice. "Get it through your thick skull."

He nods and walks away from her. "Where are you going? I want to fight you." He doesn't stop walking, he just keeps going. He doesn't want to fight her, no matter how much she challenges him. Suddenly he feels the air shift around him and he turns to see tendrils of shadows heading towards him.

He dodges and throws up a wall of air to block the next attack of shadows. She laughs loudly.

"Come on Skulduggery, fight me. I think you're the only opponent worth my time and skills, other than maybe Tanith." she says.

He looks at her for a minute before sighing. "I'm sorry Valkyrie." He lets the wall of air down and dodges another wave of shadows then sends a fireball at her. He grabs her and swings her over his hip. She smashes onto the floor and laughs wickedly. She throws a punch to his jaw and throws elbows. He doesn't want to retaliate, but her attacks were getting more ferocious with every blow.

He thrusts his his hand out and his palm catches her chin and makes her stagger. "Now thats more like it!" She runs towards him and unsheaths a dagger, he means to run pst her but she is too fast, she slices a few of his ribs, scaring them deeply, almost the whole way through.

He cries out and staggers away from her. She runs towards him again but he decides he has had enough so he looks at her then shoots up into the morning sky. He doesn't leave because she has hurt him, he leaves because he can't fight her because he doesn't want to hurt Valkyrie. She doesn't follow him, he is thankful for that.

* * *

Darquesse lands on the top of the tallest building and waits patiently for him to come. A second later he is by her side, hands in his pockets.

"How has she been, Valkyrie I mean." he asks.

"How many times do i have to tell you; we are the same person." she says, angrily. "Get it through your thick skull."

He nods and walks away from her. "Where are you going? I want to fight you." she asks him. He just keeps going. She raises the shadows and sends them his way. She smiles when he turns around and dodges them. She sends another wave of shadows and he blocks these ones with a wall of air.

She laughs. "Come on Skulduggery, fight me. I think you're the only opponent worth my time and skills, other than maybe Tanith." she says.

He looks at her for a minute before sighing. "I'm sorry Valkyrie." He lets the wall of air down and she send spears of shadows at him, but he is quick and sends fire at her. He grabs her and and flipped over his hip. She crashes onto the floor and laughs wickedly. She throws a punch to his jaw and throws elbows. Her punches are getting more ferocious and she can tell he wants to fight back.

He snaps his palm out and catches her in the jaw. "Now that's more like it!" She unsheaths the dagger and runs to him cutting a few of his ribs. Now she can hear Valkyrie's voice screaming in her head. _Stop, please don't hurt him. I hate you, you're so evil. If only I had been strong enough to resist you during the Surge._ He cries out and takes a few steps away from her. She runs towards him, going to get him again, but he flies past her but she doesn't follow. She is happy that he came today, she knows he will be back. The way Valkyrie had slipped through today might have been a good thing. She knew that if Valkyrie kept slipping out, the more eager he would be to fight.

The more eager to fight, the more Darquesse got one step closer to her goal.

Closer to Lord Vile.

* * *

**A/N: Um, I thought I should apologize for the bad fight scene. I'm not to particularly good with fight scenes...X**


	4. The Return of Two

**A/N: Meow.. Hi, I don't really have much to say besides the fact that I hope I don't sound somewhat rascist in the 4th(?) paragraph. I don't know, i just wanted to tell you that i don't mean to offend anyone by 'destroying' their country/continent. I'm not dissing any countries or continents, I just grabbed the countries/continents and put them in the sentences, it was totally random. Like it shouldn't be taken seriously, but you never know.**

**Anyways that's it, please Review and here is chapter { 4 }, enjoy!...X**

* * *

Darquesse watches as Skulduggery gets smaller and smaller as he heads back to the farm. She pulls her phone from her pocket and clicks speed-dial.

"Solomon, get everyone back. Tell them to retreat back to the Temple. Don't worry, Skulduggery will call his army off. Meet me at the pier."

"Yes Darquesse." Solomon answers.

Darquesse smiles and shoots off towards Haggard. As she flies she thinks about her plan, a plan that she made from the first time she met Lord Vile. She was interested in him. Not romanticaly, but as a fellow world-destroyer. Not that there is much left of the world to destroy.

Most of Europe is gone, turned into a land of black charcoal. Half of Asia and the Middle East, are on neither Skulduggery's or her side, so she sends her most powerful 'minions' to kill a few thousand people every month in hope they will convert. America and Australia are mostly intact, just because that is where she likes to relax and unwind, yet a lot is still destroyed. Africa is a land of dead bodies, crying and blood. She leaves Ireland because it's where she was born, the one place that she can't bring herself to destroy.

She gets closer to the pier and throws herself to the ground. She can feel several bones break. She gets up and heals her broken bones. She does this often; she likes the way she can heal every injury, she doesn't know why, she just does it. While she waits for Solomon to arrive, she thinks about the short encounter she had had with Skulduggery.

She thinks about when she heard that voice behind her, goodness knows it filled her with joy. She didn't realise how much she has missed him, how much she missed his voice and just the way he was. She just missed him. She thinks of the war that has happened over the past year. She thinks of the people she has killed and the places she has destroyed. She knows it wasn't her, not really, but it fills her with guilt and makes her feel even worse when she thinks of Skulduggery, and what he must think of her. Then Valkyrie's thoughts go back to how many people she's killed and she staggers towards a bush and throws up.

Valkyrie stands up and wipes her mouth. "Oh my God, I'm me again!, Oh my God, this is gre-. Wait. Darquesse, I know what you're doing. You let me go, thinking I would go to Skulduggery or to someone like that. Well guess what? I'm not going to do that. You can take control of me again now, or never come back." Valkyrie hisses to the air.

_"My, my. You're smarter than I thought." _Darquesse's voice whispers in her head. "_I'm not going to take control of you just yet. i'm giving you a bit of your life back, take a look at the damage we've done. When I think the time is right, I'll take control of you again. I'd say goodbye, but I never really leave do I now?"_

Valkyrie nods and stares at the world around her.

Most houses are still standing, but some are broken and charred, some are nothing but a pile of rubble. The sky is cloudy and dark and it is starting to rain. Suddenly she hears a sound behind her. She whips around and sees Solomon standing there. "Darquesse, how did your meeting with Skulduggery go?"

Valkyrie stands there just staring at him and her eyes fill with tears.

"Darquesse? What is wrong, you're crying is everything alright?" he takes a few steps towards her. "Hold on, Valkyrie? Is that you?"

She can't do anything but nod. He looks at her for a moment before rushing over to her and pulling her into a hug. "Valkyrie, I've missed you. Your not the same as her, rather different. It's really good to see you...as yourself."

"It's good to see you too, but can you please let go of me now? You are _not _the first person I would have liked to see." her voice comes out muffled.

"Ah, now I really know it's you. So what are you going to do now?"

"Nothing. I'm not leading her to them. I also don't want to go to the Temple, so if you could do this one thing for me."

"Anything."

"Well two things actually, free Ghastly and get me a coffee?"

"Free Ghastly?" he puts a scowl on his face. "I can't just do that, the others will wonder why you are releasing him."

"I don't care. I've tortured him, kept him hostage and forced him to make our clothes. If you kidnapped and tortured me against your own will and you had the chance to set me free, what would you do?"

He stared at her for a bit before removing the scowl and nodding. "Fine. I don't like the idea, but fine. I'll do it now."

"Thank you Solomon." she says as the rain starts to pour.

He turns around, ready to go back to the Temple but before he does he asks her a question, "Where are you going to be?"

"At home."

* * *

"Tanith, call everyone back!" Skulduggery calls out to Tanith. As he says this he notices the Necromancers are retreating.

He flies over head and shouts the same order to his army. Slowly both sides disappear and retreat from the farm.

Tanith lets one of the younger women take her motorbike and hops into the Bentley, next to Skulduggery. She feels uncomfortable but doesn't adjust the seat. "How'd it go?"

Skulduggery stays quiet but starts the car engine. "Skulduggery, what happened? Tell me right now!"

He sighs and turns to her. "I don't know. I could say it went well and I could say it went bad. The only good thing I got out of this morning, was that I got to see Valkyrie, not Darquesse, Valkyrie. It was only brief, only a second but it made me so happy to see her. But the bad thing is I don't think I can fight her again, it's too much for me. I don't want to hurt her, I can't fight her. I keep telling myself that it isn't really her, but when I look at her I see Valkyrie not Darquesse."

"Oh Skulduggery! I know how you feel, but if she slipped through today, she'll slip through again, you have to do it."

He nods and starts driving to Gordon's estate.

xXx

Skulduggery and Tanith get out of the Bentley and open the door to the mansion. "Tanith, I'm going to find Gordon, I'll be with everyone later."

"Sure." she says, and walks to the kitchen.

Skulduggery sighs and makes his way to Gordon's study.

"Ah, Skulduggery my old friend. I haven't seen you in a few months. How have you been?" Gordon's echo asks him.

"I've been better. How about yourself?"

Gordon's face darkens. "Do you even have to ask? My favourite niece is killing people, destoying the world and now, I have to look after two _other_ nieces."

"At least one of them is decent. May I see her?"

Gordon's face softens up. "Of course Skulduggery. And you may also see the other one while you're at it."

Skulduggery activates his facade and walks into the next room. The room has light pink walls, with a deep purple ceiling. There a television and sofa, a bookshelf stacked with books about magic, a wardrobe and a bathroom, lastly there is two girls sitting on a bed. One is a short, slim, blonde-haired girl, braiding the hair of a small black haired toddler.

"Skulduggery! How are you, it's been a while." the blonde girl asks him.

"Crystal," He nods to her. "I'm fine. How have you and Alice been?"

"We've been great." She finishes doing little Alice's hair, and picks her up. "Turns out Alice has magic. Erskine was teaching her how to click her fingers and there was a little spark. She can't make a flame yet, but she created a spark. I, on the other hand, am still as useless as ever."

"Crystal, ever since I saved you from Carol's reflection, and brought you here, you have become a better person. Then ever since I started teaching you self-defense, you have become a nice, protective, step-sister to Alice. There's no one else to look after Alice and what you're doing for us at the moment is more than we could ask for."

Crystal smiles and puts Alice on the ground, where she runs over to Skulduggery. "Have you seen Valerie lately?"

He picks her up and shakes his head. "Not yet, but I will soon. I'll tell her you said hello if you want."

"When is she coming back?"

Skulduggery glances towards Crystal. "I-i don't know, hopefully soon. I have to go now, I'll see you later ok?" He looks at the little, round face of Alice.

"Ok. Bye-bye." she waddles over to Crystal and waves goodbye to him.

Skulduggry waves good-bye to Alice and Crystal, then leaves the room.

Skulduggery walks back to Gordon who is waiting. "Crystal's quite nice now isn't she?" Gordon asks.

"She has improved. Alice asked me about Valkyrie. I told her I didn't know when she was coming back."

"Ah yes. It's best that she doesn't know the truth yet. Maybe when she's older. Have you seen Darquesse lately?"

"Today. For the first time in a year. It wasn't just Darquesse though. Valkyrie slipped through, for a second."

Echo-Gordon's eyes widen. "So it's true? Darquesse could be getting weaker? I mean, I heard the others say she slipped through, but I didn't know if that was an attempt to make us feel better or not. You're back this early though, so I'm guessing you didn't fight her long then?"

"I couldn't. Gordon, you couldn't bring yourself to hit her could you? No matter how much she wanted you to."

"I guess not. Are you going again?"

"I have to. If Valkyrie is getting stronger, then yes."

There is a silence that fills the room. "Gordon, Skulduggery, could you please call Crystal and Alice down for lunch?" Tanith's voice breaks the silence.

"Sure." Echo-Gordon calls out.

Skulduggery knocks on the door to the girls' room and tells them about lunch. They all head downstairs where everyone is gathered around a large mass of shadows around the door. "What's going on?" Suddenly everyone gasps and takes a step back as shadows receed from the hooded figure beneath. A body is thrown to the floor and the figure, a necromancer, shadow-walks away.

"Who is it?" Skulduggery asks.

A young man called Sky Rune turns the body over and everyone is silent.

* * *

**A/N: Ha ha. Bet you didn't see that one coming. I think that was a nice little twist in the first section, and the man on the floor, about to be revealed in the next chapter, is pretty obvious. I also think this was a relatively long chapter, I hope you guys appreciate it.**

**Thank you for your patience. Goodbye, and please ****_Review_****, my lovelies! X **


	5. Ghastly's Reunion & Valkyrie's Dilemma

**A/N: Here's chapter 5. please review... X**"Ghastly!" Tanith shrieks, breaking the silence.

Skulduggery pushes past the gruop and kneels next to the unconscious form on the floor. "It's him. Tanith, Erskine, help carry him to the sofa." He jerks his head to the side.

Erskine immediately rushes over, but Tanith moves slowly, in shock. They pick up Ghastly's heavy, unconscious body and lay him on the sofa. "Someone get Nye, we need to get him checked out."

Everyone from the group nods and starts shuffling away.

"Not...Nye." A weak voice says. Tanith, Skulduggery and Erskine all look down to see Ghastly with his eyes open and a weak smile playing on his lips. "I'm back."

Tanith's eyes fill with tears but she blinks them back before leaning down to give him a hug. "I've missed you, Ghastly." She says, her voice cracking embarrassingly.

Ghastly chuckles and retuns the hug. "I've missed you too."

The two stay like that until there is the sound of someone clearing their throat. Ghastly lets Tanith go and looks around the room. "Erskine, Skulduggery. How good to see you again."

Erskine losses his worried expression and replaces it with a large smile and walks up to Ghastly then puts his hand on his shoulder. "It's good to see you too my friend."

Erskine checks the time on his watch and frowns. "I'd like to celebrate your return, but I'm afraid I must go. I have to meet a bunch of people who say they know how to stop Darquesse. There is not much chance in that, but you never know."

"Yeah, you never know. Goodbye Erskine." Says Ghastly. He turns his head around to Skulduggery. "So, Skulduggery."

"Ghastly."

"Um, I think I'm going to make some tea." Tanith says awkwardly. "I'll be back in five."

Skulduggery nods once and she saunters out of the room, leaving the two men to stare at each other. Ghastly gets of the sofa and stands before Skulduggery. "It's good to see you." he pauses for a moment. "You're not going to hug me are you?"

Skulduggery stares at Ghastly for a long moment before speaking, "No. Why would I do that?"

"Good, that would be weird."

The pair stand in silence when Ghastly's face breaks into a large grin and Skulduggery laughs. Then the two friends are hugging. "It's good to see you my old friend."

"I was wondering how long you could keep the sombre mood up. I was actually starting to think you weren't pleased to see me."

"I do have superior acting skills. How have you been on the past year?"

"I've been fine. You?"

"I've been better. How are you, truly?"

Ghastly averts his gaze from Skulduggery to the floor the nopens his mouth to speak, "I've been better. It wasn't that bad. I just never thought there was that side to her, you know?." Ghastly takes a breath before continuing. "How long did you know?"

"Pardon?"

How long did you know?" Ghastly repeats. "About her?"

"Ah, about that..."

"You knew she was Darquesse and yet you didn't tell me or Tanith or anyone." Ghastly says, the anger evident in his voice. Skulduggery stays silent.

"Why didn't you tell us? We could have stopped this whole mess from happening!" He yells.

"I was afraid you would kill her."

"AND YOU WOULD PREFER UTTER ANNIHILATION TO THE WORLD INSTEAD?" Ghastly shouts. "_Why _didn't you tell us?"

"She was like a daughter to me, Ghastly, she was my best friend and work partner. She accepted terrible things about me that no one else would."

"Like what? What wouldn't I be able to handle? What's worse than not telling us about Darquesse."

Skulduggery hesitates. "It's best you don't know, not yet. I apologise for not telling you about Darquesse. I lost my family once, I didn't want to lose the next best thing. Valkyrie."

The pair fall into silence and a minute later Tanith walks back in with two mugs and a pot of tea on a tray. She pours some tea into both mugs and hands one to Ghastly. Then she sits on the sofa and sips her tea.

"I have to leave. Have fun you two, I'll see you later." says Skulduggery, cocking his hat to it's usual angle and leaving the room.

"See you soon." Ghastly says quietly before sitting next to Tanith.

* * *

Valkyrie walks from the pier down a familiar route back to her house. She knows her house will be deserted and might not even be standing, but she feels as if this is where she needs to go. She jumps over her old back fence and is surprised to see her house still intact and standing. Then she remembers it's protected by China's symbol that doesn't let anyone with magic, except selected sorcerers, in the house. She keeps walking, in hope that maybe the symbols have stopped working. She gets a few feet from the house when suddenly she walks into an invisible force field. Valkyrie frowns and tries again. Maybe she'll get lucky this time.

No. The invisible barricade is still there, as solid as ever. She looks through the back window and sees her mother standing in the kitchen, staring blanky at the wall.

Valkyrie's eyes fill with tears as she moves around to the front window and can see her father wit h his head in his hands, crying. Her father had never cried, but now, it seemed like that's all he did.

She thinks of how they must be doing without her. She wonders if they can hear her.

"Dad!" she yells. "Dad, can you hear me?"

Her father raises his head slightly.

Valkyrie feels butterflies in her stomach. _They can hear me_. "Dad! It's me, Val- Stephanie!"

Her father, Desmond, raises his head higher and gets up from the chair, but her doesn't walk to the window. Instead, he walks around to the dining room. She runs around to the back and sees her mother carrying two plates of food to the dining table.

So he hadn't heard her after all; he'd just been called for lunch by her Mum. She screams in frustration and feels a tear run down her face. Then she has a thought. Maybe he can hear her, but he thinks he's just hearing things.

She takes a breath and yells out to her parents, "Mum, Dad! Can you hear me?"

Her mother shows no indication that she can hear her. Valkyrie starts to feel more tears spill down her cheeks. She thinks of why this had to happen. She thinks back to when she was younger. When she had first found out about the magical world. What was that Ghastly had said to her when she had first met him.

_... "This isn't your world."_

_"I'm a part of it now."_

_"You've just stepped into it. You've seen magic and sorcerers and a living skeleton and I bet you're having great fun - but you haven't the slightest idea what's at stake." ..._

He had been right. She didn't know she was going to be a world-destroyer. She should have left. It's times like these she wishes she hadn't been so interested in this magic world. It's times like these she wishes she hadn't been so outgoing and brave. Then she wouldn't have had to see her parents like this.

"WHY?" she screams out to no one in particular.

_Because this is your destiny. This was meant to happen, it was meant to happen to you_. Darquesses' voice reminds her.

Valkyrie inhales deeply and takes one last look at her parents before walking back the way she came, then starts walking to nowhere in particular.

* * *

**A/N: Hola! How's everyone doing? I hope you're all good. Anyways, erm, the 'reunion' thing between Ghastly and Skulduggery may seem a little..familiar.. that's because I took it from the 3rd book. It's the idea I already had for their reunion, but I didn't know how to word it properly so I grabbed it from the book. I changed it up a bit but yeah. Also, I wanted to know if it sounds a little 'Valduggery' near the end of the first section. I don't want it to be Valduggeryish but I didn't know how else to say it.**

**Thank you, keep reading and please ****Review... **

**Peace...X**


	6. A Breakthrough & A Call

**A/N: Hi guys! Erm, not much to say. Sorry if this chapter is a little slow and boring. It's just the way it goes i guess. Sorry I haven't updated in a few days, I've been to 3 birthday parties, so I've been rather busy eating birthday cakes and drinking Fanta. Please enjoy this chapter and pleasee ****Review****! X**

* * *

"Skulduggery!" Echo-Gordon calls out to him. Skulduggery turns around and sees the copy of Gordon bounding down the stairs. "Where are you going? You just got back, I wanted to have a chat with you."

"I was just going outside. I don't know what to do anymore." Skulduggery says.

"I want to talk to you about Valkyrie."

"Darquesse?"

"No, Valkyrie."

"Oh?"

"Yes, come on." Gordon beckons for Skulduggery to follow him. They walk up the stairs and back to Gordon's study. Skulduggery sits in a large, red office chair and Gordon stands in front of him.

"Skulduggery, you fought Darquesse today and saw Valkyrie break through. Why do you think this happened."

Skulduggery ponders the question for a long while before responding, "To be honest with you Gordon, I don't know. I came up behind her and we started talking. i could see in Darquesses' eyes the whole time that Valkyrie was awake and trying to regain control. I recall whispering Valkyrie's name just before Darquesse gave in. Then, of course, Darquesse became strong again."

"Interesting." Gordon murmurs.

"What?"

"I think the contact you made with her for the first time in a year has made Valkyrie have something to fight for. I mean, she was fighting already, but I think she might have started to give up hope because you hadn't gone to help her."

"Right."

"But the contact she's had with you today has made Valkyrie all flared up again. It seems when there is somone or something Valkyrie truly cares about, she fights her hardest. I think she has fought so hard today, that she has managed to push Darquesse away and build up a wall to block her for a while."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"That's right, Valkyrie has managed to block out Darquesse. It mightn't last long but she has done it."

"How?"

"I don't know, but that necromancer servant of Darquesses', he rang up before and told me to tell you all this."

"So that explains Ghastly's return. Valkyrie must have freed him while she has the chance."

"It seems that way. Also, I know where she currently is." Gordon says.

"Where, Gordon, tell me."

"He said she was going home. But don't go running of to find- come back Skulduggery, wait a moment, think of Darquesse." Gordon says, rushing after Skulduggery. "It could be a trap for all you know, Darquesse is very cunning. Think it through, maybe Darquesse meant for Valkyrie to take over, to lure you in."

"You're right-"

"Of course I am."

"I have to talk to Tanith and Ghastly. Or maybe just Tanith. Or Erskine. I don't think Ghastly would like to talk about Valkyrie right now."

Gordon sighs and nods. "You do that Skulduggery. I'll see you later." Gordon gives him a little smile.

Skulduggery nods to Gordon before going down the remaining stairs and into the lounge room, where Tanith and Ghastly are huddled up talking.

Skulduggery makes a little noise and they turn around. "Um, I just wanted to know if either of you were up to talking about Valkyrie at the moment."

Tanith instantly has a small smile on her lips, while Ghastly just looks at the ground.

"Ghastly whats wrong?" Tanith asks.

Ghastly shakes his head. "Nothing. What is it you wanted to talk about?"

"Valkyrie. Gordon says she's pushed Darquesse away and is back to normal again."

"Do you mean Valkyrie's back?" Tanith asks, a grin forming on her face.

"Exactly."

"Oh my God. Ghastly, did you get that? Valkyrie's back!"

"I did." Ghastly looks at Skulduggery. "And you wanted our thoughts about it?"

"Yes."

"I know you want to see her," Ghaslty says. "But have you ever thought that it could be a trap?"

"Yes. Gordon mentioned that already."

"I know how you must feel Skulduggery, but we can't rush this. Wait untill Erskine gets back and we'll discuss it further then." Tanith says.

Skulduggery nods and heads for the door.

* * *

What if. Valkyrie Cain's head was filled with _what if's. _Like, _what if I hadn't joined the magical world? What if Skulduggery doesn't _want _to see me because of what I did? What if the necromancers find out I'm me again?_

Valkyrie Cain sighs and looks out to the ragged sea. She's only a few minutes away from the Pier and is standing, just standing there, watching the waves crash against the shore. She can smell smoke and closes her eyes.

She reminisces about the fun, happy thing that happened before all of this destruction. She remembers her parents, her sister, Tanith, Ghastly, Skulduggery-

Skulduggery.

Oh, how she misses him. The whole time she spent being locked up in her own mind, she hadn't really thought about him that much. Sure, for the first few months he was all she thought about. Then after he din't come to see her anymore, she began to think of other things, like her family and escaping and trapping Darquesse.

She inhales more of the smokey scent, when she feels something in her pocket vibrate. She takes the phone out of her pocket and sees it is an unknown caller.

"Hello?"

"Valkyrie, it's me."

She recognizes the voice immediately. She opens her mouth to speak but no words can come out. It's him, Skulduggery. She can't beleive it. She forces herself to move her mouth and produce a response.

"Who is me?"

Valkyrie can hear the little humour in his voice, "I'm me, Skulduggery Pleasant. The world's best detective, the best friend of Valkyrie Cain, the most-"

"-egotistical, arrogant skeleton ever." Valkyrie finishes for him.

"No, but pretty close. You forgot charming and suave."

Valkyrie laughs but frowns when she realizes how calm they are. She feels happy that they are talking like this, like good old friends, like the war had never happened. But she expected him to panic, to ask right away, where she was. She just wants to see him, and she's sure he wants to see her. She snaps out of her day dream when she hears his voice calling to her from the little speakers of the phone.

"Valkyrie? Are you alright?"

She wants to tell him the truth, that she misses him and such, but she knows he will want to find her after that. But that might be exactly what Darquesse wants, so she decides against it.

"I- I'm fine. You?"

"I'm alright, where are you?"

"Oh. Um. I'm just walking around. I'm sorry, I have to go. I'm getting another call, I'll talk to you next time. Good-bye."

Then, before he can say anything else, she ends the call. She can feel her eyes fillingwith tears for the second time today. Using the back of her sleeve, she wipes it away and continues looking out to the crashing waves.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry about the bad endings, I never know how to end a chapter so I end them like that.. Anyways Bye...**


	7. Nightmares

**A/N: Hey! Sorry for not updating in AGES... I feel so bad, I will try to update at least every second day. Sorry the first section is full of dialouge that mightn't make much sense. There will be more action in the next, upcoming chapters. [you may have noticed I fixed this chapter up.]**

**I was wondering if I should change my writing style, to you know, past tense or something, please let me know if I should change it! And how I should change it.**

**Anyways, here is the next chapter..**

Review** please :)**

* * *

"Hello?" Valkyrie's voice answers the call.

"Valkyrie, it's me."

Skulduggery can hear the silence at the other end.

"Who is me?" she asks.

"I'm me, Skulduggery Pleasant," he begins. "The world's best detective, the best friend of Valkyrie Cain, the most-."

"-egotistical, arrogant skeleton ever." Valkyrie interjects.

"No, but pretty close. You forgot charming and suave."

He can hear her laugh from the other end of the phone. But then it is silent.

"Valkyrie? Are you alright?" he asks softly.

He can hear her hesitate. "I- I'm fine. You?"

"I'm alright." he tells her. "Where are you?"

"Oh, um, I'm just walking around. I'm sorry. I have to go. I'm getting another call, I'll talk to you next time. Good-bye."

He means to ask her again but before he knows it, she has ended the call.

_At least I tried_, he thought.

For once in his life, Skulduggery pleasant was truly lost. Not just lost, but confused. He was never the man to get lost, or to be confused. But right now he was both these things and he didn't like it.

He was lost because he just didn't know what to do. He just wanted this war to end, for Valkyrie to be his crime-fighting partner again and for Darquesse to be gone. But he didn't know how to make any of those things happen.

He was confused becuase Valkyrie didn't sound like she missed him, didn't want to see him. True, she was smart and thought that it was all part of Darquesses' plans, but still.

He looks out of the window of his Bentley and can see the rain start to fall. He turns the car around and heads back to Gordon's estate.

**~~XxX~~**

Erskine, Tanith, Ghastly, Echo-Gordon and Skulduggery are seated around the large dining table.

"Skulduggery," Erskine begins. "You say Valkyrie is... back?"

"Yes. I spoke with her before. Trust me, it wasn't Darquesse. Gordon says Solomon called and told him. You know that's probably why Ghastly's here with us."

"Yes, I'm aware. And what do want to do?" Erskine asks.

"We should see her. I mean, it's Valkyrie not _her_. I know it could all be part of Darquesses' plan but honestly, do you not want to see her?"

"I don't know, if this is all part of Darquesses' plan, and Valkyrie reverts back to Darquesse when we visit her, then what? She'll kill us all. In the blink of an eye, she could pull us apart and continue killing the world. Right now we are even in this war. We have more army members than her side, but that side has Darquesse, the woman that could kill us all with little effort."

"Erskine please, I thought of this idea just then, the only thing Darquesse wants is Lord Vile."

"_Vile_?" Tanith asks, confused. "Why would she want Lord Vile?"

"To help her destroy the world. I'm sure being an evil sorceress with no one to match her level of power would be quite boring." Ghastly says.

Skulduggery nods.

"What does Vile have to do with any of us?" Ghastly aks, eyebrows raised.

Skulduggery hesitates. "Maybe she think one of us knows about his whereabouts."

Tanith laughs. "No one knows where he is, he's meant to be dead."

"Yeah.. Anyways we're getting off topic, Erskine can we search for Valkyrie? You know that I'll look for her no matter what, but I'm trying to be nice by asking."

Erskine looks at Skulduggery and deliberates his answer. "Fine, I'm doing this for Valkyrie's sake. We'll begin looking for her tomorrow."

"Thank you Erskine. Good-bye everyone, I shall see you tomorrow morning." Skulduggery says, before giving a little wave and heading out ot the Bentley.

* * *

The lights in the hall aren't working. She tries clicking her fingers to summon a flame, but Elemental powers won't work for her.

Darquesse, who had access to _all_ power, would be able to conjure a flame, necromancer or not. But for Valkyrie, who was bound to the shadows, a flame was impossible.

She sighs and puts her hand to the wall. Her fingers lightly dragging against the horrid wallpaper as she walks. All she feels is wall for a minute, the suddenly they come into contact with something wooden, then something cold, and round. She twists the little doorknob and moves her hand to the next wall, where she can feel a small, square piece of plastic; a light switch.

She flicks it on and a light illuminates a room, a bedroom. A large bed, covered in pink cotton sheets with a single 'C' stitched to the middle of it, is moved to the wall, just below a large, curtained window. An study desk, and bookshelf stand at the other side. Clothes and dust litter the floor.

Valkyrie moves to the bookshelf which is adorned with badly photoshopped pictures of a chubby blonde girl. The name _Carol _is on everyone one of these photos.

"I should be fine here." Valkyrie mutters, moving to the bed. She takes her boots and jacket off before jumping onto the bed. She wraps herself in the pink sheets before falling into sleep.

**~~~oOo~~~**

_Almost the whole building is devoid of light, save for one little candle that sits at the end of the long, dark corridor._

_She's been walking for hours trying to get to the candle, but to no avail. It is if the ground was just stretching on forever, not wanting her to reach candle. So far, the only sound is the quiet sound of her boots thumping against the carpet. But now she can hear whispers. Quiet, dark little whispers._

_She looks to the walls and sees faces. Faces, of people she once knew. People she loved and people she hated. Her mother, her father, Fletcher, Beryl, Tanith, Clarabelle, Billy-Ray Sanguine. Even people that have died and that she's killed. Kenspeckle, Tesseract, Murder Rose, China Sorrows, Carol. Well, Carol's reflection anyways. Damn thing tried to aid her reflection in killing her. But she had taken care of them._

_Their eyes were soft and kind but the whispers are coming out of their mouths._

_"You caused this.." says her mother._

_"It's all your fault, Valkyrie." whispers Kenspeckle._

_"If only you hadn't joined that retched world.." Beryl says._

_"I knew there was something wrong about you when I first met you." China whispers._

_Valkyrie puts her hands to her ears, trying to block out the horrible whispers. She feels ready to cry when she feels a hand on her shoulder. She looks up into a pretty face. Her face._

_"Go away!" Valkyrie shouts , shoving her replica away. "Your gone, leave me alone!"_

_Valkyrie starts running, running towards the little candle. The voices aren't whispering anymore. They are screaming and cursing at her. She can hear her own laugh from behind her and she runs even faster._

_The light from the candle is dimming and the shrieks are getting louder. Valkyrie's legs are burning and so are her lungs, she can't run any further. Slowing to a stop, she looks behind her and sees everyone climbing out oof the walls, gathering around the reflection._

_Her reflection gives a little smile and the shadows begin creeping towrds her. They snake around her arms and play with her hair, making her shiver. But wait, how can the relection be doing this? Then it hits her, it's Darquesse._

_Darquesse laughs and all those people that are screaming, begin to move forward, begin to close in on her._

_Valkyrie takes a few steps back and her foot knocks over something. She looks behind and sees that the candle has tipped over, and the carpet has caught on fire. Valkyrie drops to her knees, head burried in her hands._

_The noise is now truly deafening, the words pierce her ears and she can't take it anymore. She looks up into her own eyes as the shadows begin clawing at her skin, and the carpet burning around her._

_"Please," Valkyrie whispers, "Make it stop, do it. Kill me."_

_Darquesses' face contorts into an evil grin and she pulls a gun from her jacket. Valkyrie's eyes focus on the barrel of the gun._

_It's a revolver, like Skulduggery's. She looks back up, expecting to see her face but sees the white skull that belongs to none other than Skulduggery._

_"Please don't." she says abruptly, as the thumbs the gun. "Please don't Skulduggery."_

_"Why not? This is all your fault," he says, tilting his head to the side. "You just said you wanted it to end."_

_"No! I take that back, you're here and I don't want to go anymore. Please don't!" she pleads._

_"I am truly sorry Valkyrie. Here, take my hat, that way I'll always be with you." his smooth, velvet voice tells her. He hands her the hat._

_"I'm sorry Valkyrie."_

_"Please d-."_

_*__**BANG***_

* * *

"-on't!" Valkyrie wakes up with a jolt, cold sweat covering her and heart beating fast. She lays back down and begins to cry. "It was just a dream, just a dream... Just a dream."

She takes a deep breath and drys the tears away and looks around the room. There is nothing out of the ordinary. She shivers and pulls her jacket and boots on before checking the time.

"I've been asleep for almost twenty-four hours, wow. Time for breakfast," she murmurs, "The most important meal of the day."

She opens the curtains and some light is forced into the hallway.

"Of course there's nothing; this house has been empty for over a year." she says after she raids the cupboards in the kitchen. Valkyrie sighs and looks out the open side door. The sky is blue and the sun is out, there's a single, white, fluffy cloud, floating in the sky. It would have been a perfect day to be outdoors and go out with friends, had it not been for the fact that black ash and shadows were littering the town. Moving from the kitchen, back to the bedroom.

She searches around for a towel. She finds an ugly grey one in the cupboard and goes into the bathroom. Thankfully the water still works.

She undresses and steps into the shower.

* * *

**A/N: Again, sorry for not updating in over a week. I realised there was ****_a lot _****of 'Valkyrie' in this chapter. I will add more of everyone else in the upcoming chapters.. Anyways, thank you and please **Review**. X**


	8. Found Her

**A/N: Hello. Another update! I changed the writing style, I think you may notice that. Please tell me if you enjoy it better. Please tell me:) Um, I suppose that's it. Also, please Review, I appreciate reviews. Thanks, LucindaCH. :3**

* * *

_"One missed call and two new messages."_said the automated voice from Valkyrie's phone. "Who whould have my number?" she asked, to herself. "Oh. Solomon."

Valkyrie frowned and clicked on the message icon. On the top of the screen _Unknown Number_ and then _Solomon_ beneath it. Her fingers darted to the top message and it opened.

_We are coming to get you, we have rough whereabouts of where you are now. Don't go anywhere OK? And don't be alarmed; it's me, Ghastly. And Tanith. We hope your still 'Valkyrie', when we find you._

Ghastly? And Tanith? They were coming to find her. Did that mean Skulduggery was coming as well? Valkyrie was so happy she wanted to dance. But then she remembered her dream. No. She couldn't see them, she couldn't let them find her. Had they not thought of what might happen? Of course they have, they must have talked to Erskine. Erskine, he was a rational man. Surely he wouldn't have risked it. Would he?

She didn't know.

She re-read the message. _...we have rough whereabouts of where you are now. Don't go anywhere..._. She needed to go. Fast. As much as she wanted to see all her friends, she just couldn't risk it. She pulled her protective clothing on and walked back to the front of the house. She opened the front door and looked around. The only things she could see was houses and the sky.

_They'll be here soon enough_, she thought.

Valkyrie didn't know where she was going, she just needed to get away.

* * *

"Alright everyone. We're going to go looking for Valkyrie today and we must be careful. We all know that Valkyrie is darquesse and that Darquesse is our... Enemy." said Erskine.

Everyone murmured and nodded in agreement.

"We need a plan. If we all go as one search party and we stumble upon Darquesse, she's probably going to kill us all. So, uh, we'll go in three groups. Miss Kiera Dreadnought will lead Group One which will consist of Mister Valhalla Jones and Reaver Cross." Erskine pointed to the woman and the two men.

Skulduggery looked at the girl that was Kiera. She had to be around Valkyrie's age, 19, and had short, choppy, blonde, shoulder length hair. She had green eyes and fair skin. She wore a deep-red tunic, similar to Tanith's and tight black pants with knee-high lace up boots. Two revolvers were strapped to her legs and a small flame rolled around her fingers.

He turned his head a little to survey the two men that stood behind her. They were both the same height and both had dark brown hair. But one had had blue eyes and the other had deep green. Matching deep-red jackets, with gold buttons covered their upper bodies and black pants and sleek, black shoes, that would have been excellent for kicking people in the face with, covered their lower halves.

"They will be searching Section Three," Erskine continued, pointing to a spot on the map. "If they find her, or anything like that, they will alert us."

"Doesn't everyone have to do that?" Tanith asked, grinning slightly.

"Shut up. Group Two will consist of Tanith, Theresa Ivory, and myself. We will-."

"Wait," Ghastly interrupted, "Why do _you_ get to go with Tanith? Why can't _I _go with her. Them."

Skulduggery's facade lifted an eyebrow. "Really Ghastly? I'm sure you'll get to spend more time with Tanith after this."

"He's right Ghastly, it's not like this is the last time we're going to see each other." said Tanith.

Ghastly stared at her for a moment. "Alright. Fine. Where am I going?"

"Ghastly, you're with Skulduggery and Sky Rune, in Section One, so Tanith and Theresa, we're in Section Two."

The two women, who looked like total opposites, nodded.

"Ghastly, do you have Valkyrie's mobile number?" Erskine asked.

"Yes. Why?"

"Give her a message that we're coming OK?"

"Sure."

"Right. Now, let's go to our cars, and motorbikes and whatnot." said Erskine, ushering everyone out. Once everyone was out he turned around and shut the door.

* * *

"Kiera, over there. Is that her?" Reaver Cross asked, pointing towards a tall, slim figure in the distance.

Kiera turned her head in the direction of Reaver's hand. "Good job Reaver. I want you two to go and find the other groups. Jones, get Erkines team. Reaver, get Skulduggerys. I'm going to get Valkyrie."

The two men nodded and headed in opposite directions. Kiera, however, walked straight ahead. She stayed in the shadows before pushing at the air and landing on the rooftop. She silently sprinted over the rooftops, staying just behind Valkyrie. _This is easy _Kiera thought. She took a moment to smile at how close she was able to get to Valkyrie without her noticing.

Suddenly she felt something wrapping around her ankle and she felt the roof tiles scraping against her back.

"Who are you?" she heard the voice that belonged to Valkyrie asked.

Kiera did not answer immediately. "I'm no one, no one of your concern anyways."

The shadows found their way around her throat. "I will ask you again. Who are you?"

Kiera glared at Valkyrie. "I'm Kiera. Kiera Dreadnought of the irish Sanctuary. I was ordered to find you."

Valkyrie's eyes widened and the shadows went away.

"I thought it'd take longer than that to find me." Valkyrie muttered. "Oh well, they're not _going _to find me. I'm so sorry about this, but I can't risk Darquesse getting her hands on Vile. Or anyone for that matter."

Before Kiera could say anything, before she could cry out, shadows wrapped around her arms and she was slammed into a wall.

+++**xXxXx**+++

Kiera Dreadnought was a foolish girl. She was twenty-one turning twenty-two and she was a fool. To go after someone who was the world-breaker alone, was a mistake.

And that was why Reaver Cross didn't go to get Skulduggery, that was why he was following Kiera.

he stayed on the opposite side of the road, watching Kiera leap and bound over the rooftops. She was good, it _seemed_ that Darquesse -or rather Valkyrie- hadn't noticed her yet. But that girl never watched her back. So she didn't notice the shadows wrap around her ankle until it was too late.

Reaver heard Kiera cry out as she was dragged off the roof and fell to the ground.

Valkyrie's face was fierce and pretty, and Reaver watched her mouth move, but he couldn't hear what was being said. Kiera muttered something and suddenly there were shadows at her throat.

Valkyrie talked again, her eyes narrowed, and after Kiera talked her eyes widened and the shadows were gone.

He crept closer so he could hear what was being said.

"...take longer than that to find me. Oh well, they're not _going _to find me. I'm so sorry about this, but I cant risk Darquesse getting her hands on Vile, or anyone for that matter."

Reaver watched as the shadows grabbed Kiera's arms and threw her into the wall. He watched as Valkyrie ran her fingers through her hair.

He decided to come out of hiding.

"Oh my God," Valkyrie said quietly. "Who are _you_?"

"Reaver Cross. I'm with Kiera."

He would have liked to explain more but he had to dodge the blade of darkness that was sent to him.

"Go away, I don't want to go back to them. I don't want to hurt them, I mean I don't know if _I_ would, but-."

"But she might."

"Yes. Does that mean you're not going to alert them?"

"I'm not, but Valhalla will. He's probably already told Erskine that we've found you. I was meant to alert Skulduggery, but I was trying to prevent this," he gestured to Kieras unconscious form, "from happening."

"OK." Valkyrie said slowly. "So you are a smart one. And a brave one too."

Reaver looked at Kiera, who was slumped against the wall. She looked quite peaceful, and not so rough when she was unconscious.

"Sorry about smashing your girlfriend or whatever into a wall." Valkyrie said, noticing he was looking at Kiera.

"Woah, woah, she's not my girlfriend," he said, shaking his head. "She's actually like my boss."

Valkyrie laughed. "So your single then?"

Reaver laughed, unsure if she was serious or mocking him in some way. "Yes. I guess I am. I take that while you were busy being an evil sorceress, you've had no time for relationships?"

"Yeah." She laughed darkly, before taking the time to survey him.

In her opinion, this boy, man, Reaver Cross, was rather attractive. He was tall, just an inch or two taller than her, he had black hair and bright blue eyes. He had muscle, even under that bulky jacket she could tell. This boy was nothing like Fletcher, he was better. He seemed to have the niceness of Fletcher, but Reaver was.. Better.

"How old are you?" Valkyrie tried to ask as casually as possible.

"Twenty." He said. "Erskine and the others should be here soon. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to leave, as I siad, I can't risk it." she said, starting to walk away. "Tell them I'm sorry OK?"

Reaver frowned. "Is that it? No other messages?"

"Nope. Goodbye, I hope we meet again."

"Goodbye." he said, giving her a little wave.

"Actually, there is one message, but it's for you only." she said, turning around.

"What is it?" Reaver asked, eyebrows raised.

"I think you're very, very attractive." She said with a little smile. "Now, goodbye."

And before he could say anything to the pretty girl in front of him, the shadows gathered into a large cloud, obscuring her from view. A moment later they dissipated, and Valkyrie was gone.

* * *

**Another A/N: I was planning on having a Valkyrie x OC(Reaver Cross) pairing, as you can see. I hope you guys are OK with that. I have an idea of where they will go. If you don't seem to like it, just wait and maybe you'll grow to like them later on in the story. -Lucinda**


	9. The Darkness Within

_Valkyrie, why won't you see your friends, our friends? Are you_ scared_ perhaps, that you're going to hurt them?_ Darquesses' voice asked.

"Shut up," Valkyrie growled, "I'm not hurting them, you are."

_But I am you, and you are me. There is no escaping it Val. You are what you are, the world-breaker._

Valkyrie sighed and sat down on the side of the road and put her head in her hands. She blinked back tears that were threatening to fall down her face, and took a deep breath.

_You know you're hurting them, emotionally of couse, but you're still hurting them. Tanith and Erskine and Skulduggery. Especially Skulduggery._

Valkyrie looked up and wanted to respond but it was at that instance she saw a familiar black car come around the corner.

"Oh hell." Valkyrie said.

* * *

"Skulduggery, we've been down this street about eight times. What makes you think she's going to be here this time?" Ghastly Bespoke asked.

"Ghastly, if there's one thing I've learnt from all my years spent with Valkyrie is that the sparrow flies south for winter." he replied.

"What? That's the code you made up to let her know you were going to punch someone." said Ghastly, confused. "That doesn't make sense."

"Yes, I know. I just have a feeling she's around here, it's like instinct."

"Instinct? What in the world Skulduggery, you've lost it." Ghastly murmured, shaking his head.

"Uh, guys, is that her over there?" Sky Rune spoke up from the backseat, pointing to a girl at the end of the street.

"It is, Skul look!" Ghastly said, also pointing.

"Just because I have no eyes does not mean I can't see for myself." he muttered. "Ghastly, take the wheel, she's going to start running in a second and I don't fancy crashing this car trying to get her."

"You, crash a car?" Ghastly laughed, but he slid into the drivers seat as Skulduggery gracefully climbed out the window and landed a few metres away from Valkyrie.

* * *

Silence. Silence is what the two friends greeted each other with. It was like that for a minute, until Valkyrie broke the silence with a sob.

"Oh my goodness," she whispered. "Skulduggery."

And then the two were hugging. Valkyrie had her face buried in his shoulder and his arms were wrapped around hers.

"Oh my God. I've missed you so much Skulduggery, so, so much." she cried into his shoulder.

"That's quite understandable, I'd miss me too." he said, patting her back.

She laughed and wiped her eyes.

He held her at arms length and looked at her. "This is not how I would have liked to see _you_ after such a long time, but I'm not complaining."

"Shut up." she said, giving his shoulder a playful punch.

She looked behind him as the Bentley slowed to a stop.

"Who else came?" she asked, nodding to the car.

"Ghastly and a boy called Sky Rune. He's only twenty you know." he gave her a little nudge.

She said nothing but rolled her eyes. "This is dangerous you know."

"What is?"

"Us, meeting. She could come out at any moment." she said before her face darkened and her voice dropped down to a whisper. "She wants Lord Vile. She told me, she's... Bored with what the world has to offer her. She has no one with her level of power to play with."

Skulduggery satyed silent.

"Have you told them that it's a possibility?"

"I have. Tanith laughed and brushed it over, I think Ghastly's a little suspicious though."

"He should be, your Lord Vile for God's sake, you killed his mother." she said.

"I know."

"I guess I should say hello to Ghastly."

"Go."

Valkyrie took a step towards the car, but that was the laast thing she did before Darquesse took over.

* * *

He noticed it. As soon as she stepped away from him, he knew. He could feel it, the darkness that she emitted.

She spun around and kicked him in the jaw, sending him flying back.

"Damn it." she heard someone shout, just before a wave of pulsing, blue energy struck her, making her stagger.

She whipped her head around and saw the man Skulduggery mentioned. He was out of the car, with intricate symbols glowing green all over his body. He tapped matching symbols on his cheeks and Darquesses' vision started to cloud and darken. She was being blinded.

But Darquesse overrid that power and pushed the boy off his feet with a wall of air, then she pushed the air and slammed him into a tree.

She turned and felt Ghastly's fist connect with her cheek-bone. She grinned.

She raised both hands and brought them down, a solid block of air slammed down on him and he fell to the ground.

"This is too easy, where's the challenge?" she shouted, turning to where she last saw Skulduggery. "Where are you?"

Darquesse rose off the ground in search for Skulduggery. "Skulduggery, where are you? You should let him out. I know he's there, just let him out, let him play."

She turned around in time to see Skulduggery flying straight at her.

She laughed as they crashed into the ground, cracking it and breaking it.

"Is that all this is to you? A game?" he asked her, staggering slightly. "Let her go."

"No. Just for a while. Let _him_ come out, let _Lord Vile_ out. Come on Skulduggery, if you don't do it willingly, I'll have to break him out." Darquesse said, moving towards him.

"Let her go Darquesse." said Skulduggery.

"You're no fun. Oh well, looks like I'm going to break him out."

Then Darquesse grabbed the magic that sustained him and pulled and twisted. She could see the color fading and it was being replaced by a dull grey. She twisted it with her fingers and poked it. The whole time she did this, Skulduggery screamed.

But she didn't stop.

Not until his screams died down, to nothing more than weak rasps, and not until he was on his knees and the very magic that sustained him was almost gone.

She let that magic reignite momentarily before wrapping her hand around it and releasing the darkness within him.

* * *

**A/N: ERMERGERD, such a suuucky chapter and I apologize. I have no excuse for such a lame chapter other than I have been lazy. Yep. That's right. I've just been to darn lazy to write. AND I APOLOGIZE! :(**

**Well, Lord Vile is here and there is going to be chaos! I need a review or two for this chapter, as reviews make me happy and motivated and not lazy. So please review, OK?**

**Yeah, thats it. Thanks ;***

**P.S, And does anyone even ****_read_**** my authors notes? I'd like to know.. Byyeee**


	10. Lord Vile, The Fight and The Truth

It hurt. What she was doing to him, it hurt. She was destroying his being. She was killing him.

Darquesse had his life in her hands, literally. She was twisting and breaking it. Skulduggery screamed, the pain worse than when Serpine pointed his red-right hand at you. He didn't know how much more he could take.

His magic must have looked pretty dim. She had mentioned to him that it was beautiful, that it shimmered.

Eventually his screaming lessened and his voice became hoarse. He dropped to his knees as he felt his life about to end.

Then he felt the life come back to him momentarily. But it was taken away again when Darquesse stuck her hand in it again and then-

* * *

Lord Vile woke up. His armour instantly started shifting and forming around him, the shadows becoming solid.

Darquesse took a step back and admired the beauty of the armour. It continuously moved and changed, yet stayed in the same place. She reached out to touch it and an armour covered hand grabbed her own extended one.

"Hello there." Darquesse said, pulling him towards her. "Let's have some fun."

Then, like a bullet, Lord Vile was up in the air, dragging Darquesse with him.

Darquesse laughed and used her own power to fly ahead of him.

"You can let go of my hand now." she said.

Lord Vile didn't reply. His grip got tighter and tighter until the bones broke.

"That's not nice." said Darquesse, mending her broken hand. "But it's been a while since you've last been free, so I'll excuse you just this once."

Vile opened both hands, gathering the shadows. They thrashed and curled behind him, then they shot at her like bullets, puncturing her hands and neck but unable to penetrate her protective clothes.

She launched herself at him and began punching his masked face, but she stopped as his armour grew spikes and it punctured her stomach, getting a few organs. She let go of him and instantly repaired herself.

"This is fun. Let's go somewhere different, France perhaps?"

And before anything else could happen Darquesse shot off in the direction of France and Vile flew after her.

* * *

"God dammit! What the heck just happened?" Sky Rune asked, rubbing his neck as Ghastly Bespoke helped him up.

"Darquesse happened. We're lucky she didn't break anything. Even luckier she didn't kill us." Ghastly replied.

The two brought themselves to the Bentley and they hopped in and headed towards the Sanctuary.

+++**OoOoO+++**

"Are you sure Ghastly?" Tanith asked. "Are you sure that's what you saw, it seems impossible."

"For the last time Tanith, I know what I saw!" Ghastly roared. "I'm sorry Tanith, but when you find out your best friend transforms into the person who murdered your mother and countless others, right before your eyes, you get quite angry."

"It's fine. I'll go make us four some tea." Tanith said, eager to leave the room.

"So Skulduggery Pleasant is Lord Vile?" Erskine asked.

"Yes. Unless it was just my imagination. But it's not, becuase Sky saw him too." Ghastly said, fists clenched.

"Uh, I can't be sure, I uh, still wasn't one hundred percent when it happened."

Ghastly hovered over him. "You were the one who brought it up!"

"Ghastly, calm down." Sky said, arms in a gesture of surrender.

"No! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN, _SKULDUGGERY _IS LORD VILE. He KILLED MY MOTHER." said Ghastly, getting up and punching the wall. "I knew he kept secrets from me, but not this big. And what are we supposed to do? Before we only had _one _problem to worry about. Now we have _two_ world-breakers on the loose and we're sitting here."

"It's like the end of the world is here, truly here. We can do nothing, nothing at the moment anyways. We can just hope that Lord Vile and Darquesse don't come back here any time soon. For now, we should just go to lunch then have a rest. I'm sure someone will wake us up for dinner." said Erskine.

GHastly grunted in agreement, backing away from the hole he made in the wall. "Sorry.'

Ghastly, with his fists clenched stormed out to his car and waited for the others. Erskine and Sky collected Tanith and the four of them left the Sanctuary and drove to Gordon's mansion.

* * *

Darquesse was stuck in a headlock when they began to see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. They had been flying for little over an hour and Darquesse laughed as they headed straight towards it. They got closer and closer, about to crash into it, then last minute she steered them through the gap and landed in a river not to far from the Tower.

Lord Vile was already on the shore, just as she pulled herself out of the water.

"That was fun!" she said, giving him a smile.

Vile sat down on the ground and put a hand to his helmet. The helmet melted into the gloves and was mixed with the rest of the armour. Skulduggery looked at her.

"Hello Darquesse." he said.

"Hello Skulduggery. That was fun wasn't it? Don't you want to do it again? Put the helmet back on and let him take over again."

"No. I don't want that. I hurt Valkyrie, I'm not doing that again. Leave her alone and go."

"Skulduggery, you hurt me and I'm fine you know. But I like having a rest, so I'm going to give Val back, I'm gonna rest for a bit. For mor than a day. I promise." she laughed. "But I can say I'll be back soon."

Skulduggery had just taken the last of the armour off, when she grunted and staggered forward. He caught her just before she fell onto the ground.

"Hey." she murmured.

"Hey."

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." he replied.

"It is."

"Stop blaming yourself, you've got worse problems."

"Like what?"

"Like the gaping hole in your shoulder."

"What!"

"Shush, we'll get you back to the Sanctuary."

He lifted her up and rose into the sky.

"Aren't I too heavy for you to carry all that way?"

"I'll find a boat somewhere, besides you're not that heavy."

"Good. Wake me up when we get there."

Skulduggery said nothing, and there was no sound other than the sound of waves and wind.

* * *

**Review Please! :) **

**~Lucinda**


	11. Deep Wounds, Love and Anger

Skulduggery strode into the Sanctuary infirmary, looking for Valkyrie. Instead, he only found Dr. Nye standing before a large metal door.

"How is she?" Skulduggery asked.

"She's been moved to the critical ward." it replied.

"Why?"

"Miss Cain has sustained a large wound very close to her heart, by shadows. Though I myself, used to live in them, it is proving difficult to fix her." it replied. "Also, the Sanctuary isn't too keen on looking after murderers.

"Can I see her?" he asked curtly.

A thin smile played across it's crooked lips. "Why would you want to do that? You were the one who caused it after all, Lord Vile."

Skulduggery snarled, "Don't call me that!"

"Nye, for God's sake let him in or I'll kill you." Valkyrie's voice came from the other side of the metal door.

Nye's grin grew wider and he opened the metal door. "That is a threat you would no doubt, be able to carry out. To think, almost four years ago I sealed your name, not knowing that you were Darquesse. If I would have known then, I would have dissected you into a thousand pieces."

"Shut up Nye, or I'll put a bullet through your head." Skulduggery threatened, moving through the door.

Nye muttered something before closing the metal door and scurrying off to do something important.

"I'm sorry Valkyrie." he said softly, as he looked at the girl with blood-soaked bandages covering her torso, laying in the hospital bed.

"It's OK. I've been through worse; I've had my head ripped off once."

Skulduggery tilted his head at her.

"Oh, I never told you. When Silas Nadir was making me shunt to that alternate dimension I, well _Darquesse_, was in a fight against Mevolent -don't interrupt me, let me finish." she held up a hand to stop him from talking. "It was pretty even, until I couldn't dislodge him and he just.. ripped my head off. But I got it back on of course."

"And you never told me this because?"

"I forgot." she replied flatly.

"Right, OK. So how are you feeling?"

"Better. According to Nye it should be healed by tomorrow afternoon."

"That's good."

"Yeah." she said. "Do you think Ghastly knows now?"

He nodded. "Ghastly's on his way here to, uh, speak with me. I don't think there's going to be much speaking, just yelling and a long stare down."

"Are _you_ OK?" asked Valkyrie, noticing the way he was staring at the ground.

"I knew he would find out sooner or later. I can't imagine what it's like for him. Or the others. It's a wonder we aren't dead already." he said.

They sat in comfortable silence until Nye knocked on the door.

"Your friends are here to see you Miss Cain, I haven't told them Skulduggery's here though, so this might be a fun conversation to watch." it said.

Valkyrie looked at Skulduggery and he looked at her. The metal door opened wider and Tanith Low and Ghastly Bespoke walked in.

* * *

The whole trip back to the mansion was quiet. No one spoke a word. Ghastly drove, his hands clenched around the steering wheel, Tanith, sat next to him and Erskine and Sky Rune sat in the back. It was all very quiet.

It was only when they neared the mansion, anyone spoke.

"It really feels like the end of the world doesn't it?" Tanith asked, tears in her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Ghastly asked, forgetting about Vile, his attention now on the crying Tanith.

"I mean, Darquesse is still out there, Lord Vile is with her and the world is only going to get worse." she sniffled. "Sometimes I want to leave it. Just want my life to end so I don't have to go through this. Oh my God, I sound so whiny and stupid."

They pulled up in front of the mansion, and Erskine pat Tanith's shoulder before leaving the car with Sky.

Ghastly waited until both side doors were shut before he grabbed Tanith and kissed her on the lips. He felt her smile beneath the kiss and then they stopped when Tanith broke away, crying.

"So that's why I continue to get up everyday." she laughed weakly.

"Tanith, you never sound whiny or stupid." he said softly. "I understand why you feel like that, I spent a year thinking that everyday, and now I feel even worse, knowing Skulduggery is Vile. And you know what keeps me going?"

"What?"

"The thought of this war ending. And seeing you and everyone else alive. The thought of us finally being what we've always wanted to be."

"Married?" she said with a smile.

Ghastly looked a little surprised. "I was going to say happy, but that sounds good too."

Tanith wiped her eyes with the palm of her hand and looked at Ghastly. "Thank you Ghastly.'

"You're welcome Tanith."

"You think we should get out now?"

"Yeah. Erskine's probably already started making a plan to keep us safer and protect everyone. He's good at that."

The pair got out of the car and walked inside where Sky was waiting for them. His usually smiling face was wearing a worried look. He trieda little smile when they got closer.

"Erskine told me to tell you they're coming back. When we were gone _Skulduggery_ called and said he was bringing Valkyrie. He said she was badly injured, so was he."

Ghastly's anger flared up and he was trying to keep himself composed. "And what do they want?"

"All Skulduggery wants is for Valkyrie to be treated. As you're an Elder, Erskine wanted to ro make sure you also agreed to it."

"Did Mist agree?" he said, trying to keep his voice even.

Sky nodded and noticed Ghastly clenching and un-clenching his fists.

"Fine. But only for Valkyrie's sake. Where is Erskine anyway?"

"With a bunch of other doctors and scientists discussing the Cube. You know the thing that was used for Argeddion."

"Yes, I know. I'll go join them, they might need my opinion." Ghastly said shortly.

"Ghastly,..." Tanith began. "If Valkyrie's going to the Sanctuary, we should go visit her."

"I guess we should. I'm sorry Tanith, I have to go. We'll see Valkyrie later, I promise." he smiled sadly. He gave her a short kiss and mumbled a thank you to Sky before leaving to find Erskine and the others.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys like that chapter. I'm not so good with 'romance' so I apologise if the whole "Ganith" thing isn't up to your standards.**

**Has anyone else noticed how much I've been updating recently? It's becuase of the reviews I've gotten. It's only been one or two, but ALL reviews are appreciated,, as they make. me. motivated. So, uh ,please ****review**** :3**


	12. Some Rage & Strange Dreams

Lauren Tumblemoore was boring. Geoff Ridomine was boring. The whole meeting was boring. Ghastly had attened the meeting in the hopes of finding out if they had made any progress with the Cube. But now, the scientists were just blabbering about it just for the sake of it. He didn't really care, he just wanted to see Tanith.

"... and so, that means we would be able to use the Cube." Lauren finished, brushing her red, frizzy hair out of her face.

"Alright... Would we be able to use it within the next twenty-four hours?"

Lauren shared a glance with her partner, Geoff. "I-I. Yes, you could. You would need a bit more charging to get it started. If it would have been a month from now, you wouldn't need a bigger charge."

"But it's possible, right?" Erskine asked, looking tired.

The two scientists nodded.

"Well that wraps up this meeting then." Ghastly said, getting up from his chair.

Everyone in the room nodded, got up and left the room.

Ghastly was last to leave the room, and when he did, Tanith was waiting for him in her leather attire and black jacket.

"Valkyrie's at the Sanctuary." she said.

He put his arm around her waist and they walked outside. "Is Skulduggery there?"

"I don't know. Clarabelle didn't say, she just said that Valkyrie arrived."

"OK, we should go now. Spend more time with her."

They got in the car and began driving to the Sanctuary. Tanith, filled with happiness, Ghastly, with an anger he never wanted Tanith to see.

* * *

"Tanith!" Valkyrie shreiked, her voice embarrasingly high.

Tanith rushed over and gave Valkyrie a long hug.

When they pulled apart, both girls had teary eyes.

"It's so good to see you Val. As _yourself_ you know?" said Tanith. "I've missed you."

Valkyrie smiled and the two girls continued to hug and cry for some time. When they had quite finished, they noticed the room was filled with a deadly silence. They looked around and saw Ghastly and Skulduggery standing at opposite sides of the room, just staring at each other.

"Hello Ghastly." Skulduggery said quietly.

"Hello? _HELLO_?" Ghastly bellowed. "YOU'RE LORD VILE, YOU KILLED MY MOTHER AND COUNTLESS OTHERS AND ALL YOU SAY IS _HELLO_?"

Skulduggery was going to say something, apologize maybe, but before he could, Ghastly had advanced to him with his arm drawn back ready to punch. And that's what he did.

Ghastly threw a punch at Skulduggery's head, but Skulduggery ducked low, avoiding it, causing Ghastly's fist to go smash the wall. Skulduggery moved around Ghastly, but Ghastly was fast and strong and he lashed out to the side, catching Skulduggery in the ribs. Skulduggery didn't want to fight Ghastly so he blocked and evaded Ghastly's blows.

Then Skulduggery

felt the need to end the brawl. He swung his fist, but Ghastly caught it and with pent up anger and rage, returned one of his own and watched Skulduggery's jaw break.

The crack of bone breaking was loud, and that made the girls decide they hada had enough.

Valkyrie raised her arms and the shadows wrapped around Ghastly's leg. She pulled and he staggered. Tanith got up and rushed over to Ghastly, putting her hands on his chest to calm him down and stop him from further harming Skulduggery. Ghastly, still feeling angry, grabbed Tanith by the arm gripping it so tightly that she actually winced.

"Ghastly," she said gently, trying her best not to grimace, "Please calm down. Take a breath and calm down. Please."

Ghastly continued to glare at Skulduggery for a little longer before listening to Tanith's instructions and closing his eyes. He released his grip on her arm and she hugged him, whispering something into his ear.

"I'm sorry I hurt your arm." he said, voice low.

"It's OK."

She kissed him lightly on the lips before moving back to Valkyrie's side, rubbing her arm.

"You should get Nye to put something on that." Valkyrie told her.

"Oh Val, I'm a tough girl and I've got access to those healing rocks, I'll be fine." Tanith replied.

Valkyrie smiled then turned her attention back to the two men. When Ghastly spoke, she could hear the anger lacing every word like venom.

"Skulduggery. I don't know how you've managed to live with yourself all these years, but I hope you feel bad for the things you've done. Because no amount of pain you feel could ever bring back all those people you killed. Including my mothers." said Ghastly, hands still curled into fists.

Skulduggery could say nothing with his broken jaw, but he gave one short, curt nod.

Ghastly closed his eyes and took a few more breaths before he pushed past Skulduggery and out into the other room. After the door shut they could hear Ghastly venting his anger out by yelling at the new administrator to make some tea.

They heard a hasty reply before it was silent. Then the sound of a door slamming.

"Well. That was eventful." said Valkyrie.

**xXxXx**

After Ghastly had left, Tanith went to find Dr. Nye to fix Skulduggery's jaw. She came back a minute later with nye right behind her. Reluctantly, Skulduggery followed Nye to the other ward, leaving Valkyrie with Tanith.

"How long did you know?" asked Tanith, settling into a chair

Valkyrie hesitated. "A while. Trust me, I din't like it. But that was the way we worked, we kept each others secrets."

"So you kept the secret of Lord Vile and he kept the secret of Darquesse."

"Yeah. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"It's fine. I just don't understand how you managed to cope, knowing he did all those terrible things."

"I guess it's because I knew that someday I would do the same thing. That I would do terrible things like him."

"You're not a bad person Val, it's just... I don't know. But the things you did weren't your own choice, they were _hers_."

Valkyrie nodded.

The two lapsed into silence and it stayed silent until Valkyrie fell asleep.

Tanith looked at the sleeping Valkyrie, her sister. She had never seen Valkyrie sleeping before, and it was an unusual sight to see Valkyrie's face not filled with determination, anger or murderous glee. It was good to see Valkyrie looking so peaceful and calm.

"See you later Val." Tanith whispered, rising from her chair.

Tanith looked at Valkyrie for amoment longer before leaving the ward, a smile on her face.

* * *

_Valkyrie was sitting across from her own replica. They were in a living room. Two chairs, each of them occupied, sat on either side of a low, glass coffee table. There were no doors, or windows, but there was a gaping hole in the ceiling where light, ash and rain were falling through. The walls were plain._

_"Are you enjoying your, should I say, _freedom_?" her replica asked._

_"I am. Except for the whole Ghastly and Skulduggery ordeal. I don't like that." Valkyrie replied._

_"Ah yes, but your time out has to come with a little drama. I mean, what fun would it be without it?"_

_"When are you going to take over again? I know your up to something, and this niceness won't last so long." Valkyrie said, reaching out to pour herself a cup of tea._

_Her replica, Darquesse, leaned over and mirrored her movements. She grabbed the same jug that was on the coffee table and poured it's dark, steaming contents into a cup._

_Valkyrie brought the cup to her lips and watched as Darquesse did the same._

_"You'll find out soon enough dear Valkyrie." Darquesse replied, drinking her tea the same time Valkyrie did._

_"Don't you dare copme back and start hurting them. Though I can't expect anything less from _you_." said Valkyrie._

_Darquesse sighed. "You still believe we're different people don't you?"_

_"I don't want all the death you bring." Valkyrie spat._

_"Yet you love the power you can wield. You love it when you fly through the air, when you can break down houses and mend your broken bones. You cannot deny it."_

_"We are not the same!" Valkyrie shouted her hands balled into fists._

_"We're not the same, but in your dreams we mimic each others movements, like a mirror. Do you know what seeing yourself in a mirror symbolizes?"_

_Valkyrie shook her head._

_"To see yourself in your dream, like in a mirror, is a reflection of how you act and behave in your waking life." Darquesse said._

_Valkyrie shook her head. "I don't care, whatever you say I'm not listening. I see you in my dreams because you choose to be in them, not because I am you and you are me or whatever."_

_"Believe what you want to believe, but someday soon you'll agree that we're the same. You'll agree with all the destruction and mayhem." said Darquesse._

_Valkyrie said nothing, but stared into her own dark eyes. Slowly, Darquesses' image began to fade, and the sun through the roof began to get brighter and brighter until it was blinding._

_Then Valkyrie could hear a voice, a high-pitched but flat voice. It sounded like Nye's._

* * *

**A/N: Hey! I hope you guys like this chapter :[ I also hope the fight thing between Ghastly and Skulduggery was alright, I don't know if Ghastly would stop that easy, but hey! it's Tanith that stopped him so yeah. About that dream thing, I don't know if I got the right point across with that, so here's the website I got that quote/information off - **

**PLLLEEEASSE Review, x**


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